Better regulation of nursing homes needed

A recent incident involving a nursing home in Illinois is clear evidence of why nursing homes must be effectively regulated. A 24-year-old nursing assistant who was on duty when an 89-year-old Alzheimer’s disease patient wandered out of an Itasca nursing home and froze to death in February has pleaded guilty to criminal neglect. The aide was charged in connection with the death of the nursing home resident, who was found about 5 a.m. on February 5th outside the nursing home, The Arbor of Itasca. About 2 a.m., with the temperature around zero, the resident had left the facility through a door, triggering an alarm when she opened it. The aide, the on-duty nursing assistant, responded by turning the alarm off and returning to a lounge to watch a television show without checking on any residents.

An investigation revealed that the barefoot resident fell down about 85 feet from the door and then tried to crawl back. She made it about 14 feet before her body gave out. The coroner’s report said the poor lady died of hypothermia. The family told the judge:

We entrusted our mother to the Arbor staff, but she was left alone to die alone in the cold. Her will to survive was overcome by the bitter cold, and she suffered a lonely and painful death.

While the incident described above may seem extreme, we have seen similar conduct in many instances where our firm was hired by the family of a nursing home resident who had been injured or died. Nursing home owners and operators owe a high duty, in my opinion, to provide good treatment and supervision for the residents in their facilities. Governments at the federal and state level must do their jobs of regulating these facilities and monitor the level of care and treatment provided to residents.